“I thought if she really wants to do this then it’s my job as her mother to help her,” Laura, her mom, said. “My goal in the beginning was to get her two or three departments, and then when that came easy II thought ‘if we can do five that’ll make her feel good,’ and then it took off from there.”

Now, Arianna has sent more than 9,000 crosses to fire and police departments in 46 states.

A West County firefighter described the cross as “an awesome gift from a very sweet little girl.”